5 p. ; 24 cm.Includes bibliographical references

Vaurie, Charles.

American Museum of Natural History Scientific Publications

AMERIICAN MUSEUMNOVITATESPUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORYCITY OF NEW YORK APRIL 7, 1952 NUMBER 1549ADDITIONAL SYSTEMATIC NOTES ON THETITMICE OF THE REMIZ PENADULINUSGROUP (AVES)BY CHARLES VAURIEINTRODUCTIONIn a recent paper (1950, Amer. Mus. Novitates, no. 1459, pp.51-62) I had occasion to review the Palearctic penduline titmice,and I contended that all the various forms appear to replace oneanother geographically and constitute but a single geographicallyvariable species, by name Remiz pendulinus. In this species, Irecognized 10 races, but I had no material of two of these races,and in the case of some others I had insufficient material. Studyof additional material, which includes specimens of all 10 races,suggests that three of these (persimilis, jaxarticus, and neglectus)may not be valid. In the case of the races that are confirmed,the additional measurements of the forms rare in collectionschange materially some of their measurements published in my1950 paper. The new material also emphasizes the high degreeof individual variation in some forms and gave me the opportunityto examine the immature plumages and a new intermediate(hybrid) specimen.The 1950 study was based on the collection of the AmericanMuseum of Natural History and the specimens collected by Dr.Walter Koelz in Iran and Afghanistan. The new material consistsof the extensive series in the British Museum as well as the speci-mens in the Stockholm and Paris museums, and I am very grate-ful to the authorities of these institutions for their kind coopera-tion.After this additional material was studied, an importantRussian faunistic paper was received by the library of the Ameri-2 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 1549can Museum. In this paper Ivanow (1940, Oiseaux du Tad-jikistan, Moscow, pp. 198-199) treats the three main types of thependuline titmice (pendulinus, macronyx, and coronatus) as sepa-rate species, since, as he states, all three occur in western Tadjikis-tan, in the region of Leninabad on the Syr Darya in the north-west, and in the region of Dzhilikul on the lower Waksh near theAmu Darya in the southwest. However, although the ranges ofthese three forms may meet in these regions, it is still not clearthat colonies occur together. In these regions, coronatus at anyrate is separated ecologically from the other two, for according toIvanow it breeds only in deciduous forest, especially in willow andbirch, whereas pendulinus and macronyx breed only in reed beds.As reported here and in my 1950 paper the last two apparentlyinterbreed, for intermediates (or hybrids as they are sometimescalled in the literature) are not uncommon. A study of thebreeding populations of this critical region should be undertakenby some Russian author, but until then it is more constructiveand challenging, I believe, to consider that the three forms areconspecific.In the following notes the distribution and the characters ofthe various forms are not given, as they were compared andillustrated in my 1950 paper.SYSTEMATIC NOTESQUESTIONABLE FORMSThe characters of persimilis Hartert are not constant enoughnor do they appear to be sufficiently distinct to warrant its separa-tion from nominate pendulinus Linnaeus. A number of additionalspecimens taken from April 9 to June 14, during the breedingseason, in eastern Asia Minor and western Iran could not be sepa-rated from many breeding specimens of nominate pendulinusexamined from various parts of southern and southeasternEurope. On the whole, however, the eastern populations show aslight decrease in size and pigmentation.Remiz pendulinus jaxarticus Severtzow has been distinguishedfrom nominate pendulinus chiefly on the basis of its short and thinbill. In the lone specimen in the American Museum the billmeasures 8.5 mm., but in two adults in the British Museum thebill measures 11 and 12 mm. and is not different in shape orsize from that of nominate pendulinus, the bill length in nominatependulinus varying from 10.5 to 12.5 mm. (all the bill measure-1952 NOTES ON TITMICE 3ments in this study are given as taken from the skull). Thetwo adults in the British Museum also cannot be separated fromnominatependulinus by differences in the length of thewing and tailor by differences in coloration. The American Museum specimen,an adult female, is very pale and has only a very faint trace ofchestnut on the forehead, but I have examined equally palefemales collected in southern Europe. In my opinion, therefore,jaxarticus and persimilis should both be regarded as synonymsof nominate pendulinus.These three specimens were collected in winter; the two inthe British Museum, on December 5 and February 23 at Chinaz(south of Tashkent) on the Syr Darya, and the one in the AmericanMuseum, on March 14 at Perovsk (now Kzyl Orda). Breedingspecimens from the valley of the Syr are very much needed, forPerovsk, according to Dementiev (1935, L' Oiseau, p. 84), iswithin the range of macronyx Severtzow, and the range of coronatusSevertzow begins apparently in the region of Leninabad notfar above Chinaz according to Ivanow (loc. cit.). The BritishMuseum has three specimens of macronyx from Perovsk, butthey were taken in winter.Remiz pendulinus neglectus Zarudny is said by Hartert (1921,Die Vogel der paliarktischen Fauna, p. 2127) to be identical incoloration with macronyx, differing only by being of slightly smallersize and in having a somewhat finer and shorter bill. However,in a breeding specimen from the south coast of the Caspian inthe British Museum the bill is identical in shape and size withthat of macronyx and the wing is only 2 mm. shorter. No colordifferences can be discerned, and neglectus apparently is synony-mous with macronyx. This specimen, a male taken on May 20,measures: wing, 54; tail, 43; bill, 12.5.The specimen of neglectus from Giaz in the British Museumquestioned by Hartert (loc. cit.) was collected by Zarudny be-tween June 28 and July 10, probably in the region of Seistan,for this specimen, I find, is not macronyx but a typical specimenof nigricans Zarudny, a form found only in the reed beds ofSeistan.VALID FORMSRemiz p. pendulinus and R. p. caspius Poelzeln: The largeseries in the European collections emphasize the high degree ofindividual variation in the width of the frontal band of chestnut.4 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 1549In nominate pendulinus this band may be lacking or may varyfrom a trace to a width of about 4 mm. It is far more variable incaspius where it may be lacking, or the chestnut may cover thewhole crown, joining in some cases without a break with the chest-nut of the mantle. This variation is well illustrated by a seriesof 36 adults of caspius in the British Museum. In these specimensin breeding plumage taken from April to June at Astrakhan andin the southern Urals the variation is as follows:7 No chestnut band or with only slight one; not separable from nominatependulinus9 Intermediates17 Chestnut extends to center of crown or farther but does not reach mantle3 Chestnut of crown and of mantle continuous, also true of one of nine speci-mens examined in the American MuseumThere is but a step, perhaps controlled by only a few genes,from the wholly black crown of macronyx to the wholly chestnutcrown of some specimens of caspius.Remiz pendulinus coronatus: The measurements of additionalbreeding specimens, mostly from Ferghana, are as follows: wing,tail, and bill, respectively; males, 53, 40, 10; 53, 40, 11.5; 53,41, 10; 55, 39, 10; females, 51, 38, 11.6; 52, 40, 10.5. Thesemeasurements confirm the few measurements of breeding birdsgiven in my 1950 paper.Remiz pendulinus stoliczkae Hume and R. p. consobrinus Swinhoe:The measurements of additional specimens (see below) do notconfirm the very short bill lengths given in my 1950 paper (8 to 9in stoliczkae, 9 to 9.5 in consobrinus). The bill in consobrinuswas found not to differ in shape from that of nominate pendulinus,the difference that I had noted and illustrated being apparentlydue to individual variation.Remiz pendulinus macronyx: No specimens were available inmy former study. As this form and stoliczkae and consobrinusare rare in collections, the measurements of these three forms aregiven in full. The specimens are in the collection of the BritishMuseum.WING TAIL BILLstoliczkae, ChineseTurkestan d 54 43 10.59 54 41 10consobrinuT, northernChina, Shantung, andKiangsu a 56,56,57 41,42,44 11,12,12.59 53,54,55.5 39,39,40 11.5,12,121952 NOTES ON TITMICE 5macronyx, Lower Amu andSyr Daryas c 56, 57, 58, 58 46,46,49, 50 10.5, 12, 12, 12.59 57 47 11IMMATURE PLUMAGEImmature coronatus was found to be very slightly grayer thanimmature caspius and immature nominate pendulinus but other-wise inseparable. Dementiev has previously emphasized the"striking resemblance" between immature macronyx and pendu-linus (1934, Proc. Eighth Internatl. Ornith. Congress, p. 247).The young of the three main types in the penduline titmice(coronatus, macronyx, and pendulinus) are thus shown to besimilar.INTERMEDIATE (HYBRID) SPECIMENSIntermediate specimens have been discussed and described byDementiev (1934 and 1935, loc. cit.). In my 1950 paper I re-ported on others, including a specimen intermediate betweenthe macronyx and pendulinus types. This specimen, taken onthe "Transcaspian-Persian Frontier," had a black throat and awhite crown. Another similar specimen in the British Museumalso has the throat black, but the crown is also partly black, beingwhitish only in the center. This specimen was taken along thesouthern Caspian on March 16.

Notes on titmice

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